My Own Lent

Last weekend I went to a NET Alumni retreat. It was just one day but it was exactly what I needed. My teammate, Kathleen, drove down from Fresno to hang out with me. We stayed at a hotel the night before & after the retreat and talked and talked and talked. Hanging out with her reminded me that I need fellowship. I love my friends and I'm really blessed to have people in my life who really love and care about me. However, only Hana is Christian. The others sort of "tolerate" my faith and at times kind of tease me about it. I always feel like I'm their 'exception'. They really dislike Christians in general but think I'm some sort of rare breed that's ok.

In any case, it also gave me a good swift kick in the pants. I need to get myself back on track. Simply said- Jesus makes me happy. I like praying by myself. I like praise & worship. I like Mass. I may not agree with some of the politics of the Church, but I still really love my faith. So all this week I've been thinking about how to get back into a space where I can commit to things like personal prayer time.

Then I came upon this project on Ravelry. This lady had the brilliant idea of crocheting a premie hat for donation every day of Lent. Since the 40 days doesn't include Sundays, she used that day to finish off the ends (I hate that part!). The whole crochet-for-donation thing has been on my mind a lot lately, too. I'm totally addicted & finding reasons to give people gifts-- but I could be donating as well. A good friend of mine is an ObGyn & said there's ALWAYS a need in the NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit for tiny hats & blankets.

So this is it. I'm starting my own Lent starting this Wednesday, which would make my "Easter" July 18th.

My Lenten commitments are:

• At least 30 minutes Personal Prayer every day
• Crochet a premie hat every day
• Go to Mass every Sunday
• No sweets

The no sweets thing is really because I need to start eating better, but may as well throw it in there. I'm all about DOING things for Lent, rather than NOT doing things, ya know? The whole point is to get closer to Christ- not randomly deny yourself something that has nothing to do with real sacrifice.

So there you go. Hopefully I can finish up some WIPs before then... in particular the Blessed Mother Shawl I'm making for Rosa. That's another post though...